Browns fire Chudzinski after 4-12 season

Sunday

Dec 29, 2013 at 6:10 PMDec 30, 2013 at 12:32 AM

Rob Chudzinski didn't even get a full year to fix the dreadful Browns. Cleveland's front office fired Chudzinski on Sunday night following his first season, which started promising but ended with a seven-game losing streak and a 4-12 record.

Steve Doerschuk CantonRep.com sports writer @sdoerschukREP

How much has the Browns' second-worst cold snap of the expansion era cost Rob Chudzinski?

His job.

Cleveland fired him Sunday night after a 4-12 season.

A lackluster 20-7 loss Sunday to the Pittsburgh Steelers extended the Browns' losing streak to seven, including 10 of their last 11.

The Browns were 4-5 after a win over Baltimore on Nov. 3, but they fell apart in the final two months, blowing several late leads and Browns management decided to cut ties before heading into a second season with Chudzinski at the helm.

"We appreciate Chud's passion for the Browns, and we have great respect for him both personally and professionally," the team said in a statement not attributed to any person. "We needed to see progress with this football team. We needed to see development and improvement as the season evolved and, unfortunately, we took a concerning step backward in the second half of the year.

"Our fans deserve to see a consistently competitive team. We have high standards, and there's an urgency for success. When we believed we were not positioned to achieve significant progress in 2014, we knew we had to admit that a change was needed, and move forward. Browns fans are the most loyal and passionate supporters in the NFL. We're fully committed to bringing them the winning football team they deserve."

Joe Thomas, who was elected to his seventh Pro Bowl two days earlier, emphatically said — before news of the firing surfaced — don't do it. "Hitting the reset button sets everything back," he said. "It severely damages the organization."

Safety T.J. Ward didn't go that far, noting he is on his third NFL head coach and doesn't make predictions.

"I think Chud is a good coach," he said. "Other than that ... I ain't heard nothin' about it."

"I don't see that happening," he said. "Coach Chud is a great coach. They made the right move when they hired Chud."

Chudzinski's 4-12 finish ties for the Browns' worst record since 2000. The only worse stretch interrupted by just one win came in 2009, when then-new head coach Eric Mangini opened at 1-11.

Mike Holmgren, hired as team president late in Mangini's first year, decided that a 4-0 run to end the '09 campaign was grounds for keeping Mangini. He got rid of Mangini after a second year.

Chudzinski knows about NFL job security. He entered the league in 2004 as tight ends coach of the Browns, was promoted to offensive coordinator when head coach Butch Davis quit after 11 games, and was out of work when interim head coach Terry Robiskie got dumped.

"Chud" rejoined the Browns in 2007 and was out of a job again when Romeo Crennel got dumped the day after the 2008 season. Chudzinski's fate was tied to who wields the power among the team higher-ups, none of whom has said anything in public for a long time.

The top dog is Jimmy Haslam, who fired Pat Shurmur immediately after the 2012 season ended. It had been less than three months since Haslam was approved by the league as the Browns owner.

Haslam's right-hand man is CEO Joe Banner, who is involved in all major football decisions.

Haslam and Banner introduced Chudzinski as Shurmur's replacement Jan. 10. At that point, Michael Lombardi had long been linked with the Haslam-Banner regime, but his hiring was not announced until Jan. 18. He was not given the title of general manager until March 5. Thus, Lombardi was hired after Chudzinski and can wash his hands of the decision, which was made after Chip Kelly chose the Eagles and Nick Saban repelled rumors he might go to Cleveland.

Lombardi is a big admirer of Bill Belichick and is linked to Belichick's last two offensive coordinators, Bill O'Brien and Josh McDaniels.

O'Brien, 44, interviewed for head-coaching openings with the Browns and Eagles last January before staying on as head coach at Penn State. O'Brien could be headed to the Texans, but they were supposed to interview Ken Whisenhunt, indicating there is no done deal.

McDaniels, 38, interviewed for the Browns' head-coaching opening in 2009 and wound up with the head-coaching job in Denver. He rejoined Belichick as New England's offensive coordinator in 2011 after O'Brien landed the Penn State job.

Chudzinski said he talked to Haslam in Pittsburgh before the game but did not share anything about their visit. As to whether he thinks he was on "the same page" as Banner and Lombardi, Chudzinski said, "Definitely. No question."

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